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114
Stress and Strain—Axial Loading
which shows a rubber model before and after loading.† Now, if all
elements deform in the same way, the distribution of strains through-
out the member must be uniform. In other words, the axial strain P
y
and the lateral strain P
x
5 2nP
y
are constant. But, if the stresses do
not exceed the proportional limit, Hooke’s law applies and we may
write s
y
5 EP
y
, from which it follows that the normal stress s
y
is
also constant. Thus, the distribution of stresses is uniform throughout
the member and, at any point,
s
y
5 1s
y
2
ave
5
P
On the other hand, if the loads are concentrated, as illustrated
in Fig. 2.56, the elements in the immediate vicinity of the points of
application of the loads are subjected to very large stresses, while
other elements near the ends of the member are unaffected by the
loading. This may be verified by observing that strong deformations,
and thus large strains and large stresses, occur near the points of
application of the loads, while no deformation takes place at the
corners. As we consider elements farther and farther from the ends,
however, we note a progressive equalization of the deformations
involved, and thus a more nearly uniform distribution of the strains
and stresses across a section of the member. This is further illustrated
in Fig. 2.57, which shows the result of the calculation by advanced
mathematical methods of the distribution of stresses across various
sections of a thin rectangular plate subjected to concentrated loads.
We note that at a distance b from either end, where b is the width
of the plate, the stress distribution is nearly uniform across the sec-
tion, and the value of the stress s
y
at any point of that section can
be assumed equal to the average value PyA. Thus, at a distance equal
to, or greater than, the width of the member, the distribution of
stresses across a given section is the same, whether the member is
loaded as shown in Fig. 2.54 or Fig. 2.56. In other words, except in
the immediate vicinity of the points of application of the loads, the
stress distribution may be assumed independent of the actual mode
of application of the loads. This statement, which applies not only to
axial loadings, but to practically any type of load, is known as Saint-
Venant’s principle, after the French mathematician and engineer
Adhémar Barré de Saint-Venant (1797–1886).
While Saint-Venant’s principle makes it possible to replace a
given loading by a simpler one for the purpose of computing the
stresses in a structural member, you should keep in mind two impor-
tant points when applying this principle:
1. The actual loading and the loading used to compute the stresses
must be statically equivalent.
2. Stresses cannot be computed in this manner in the immediate
vicinity of the points of application of the loads. Advanced theo-
retical or experimental methods must be used to determine the
distribution of stresses in these areas.
P
P'
Fig. 2.56 Concentrated
axial load applied to
rubber model.
†Note that for long, slender members, another configuration is possible, and indeed will
prevail, if the load is sufficiently large; the member buckles and assumes a curved shape.
This will be discussed in Chap. 10.
b
b
min
ave
0.973
max
ave
1.027
PP
P'
b
1
2
b
1
4
min
ave
max
P
A
min
ave
0.668
max
ave
1.387
min
ave
0.198
max
ave
2.575
PP
Fig. 2.57 Stress distributions in a plate under
concentrated axial loads.
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